I get what you are saying, but I hate this line of thinking. It isn't just your statement, but I don't agree with an ends justify the means approach for bad moves. Its the same as people who praise say, John Paxson, for messing up trading Aldridge for Tyrus Thomas since we might not have won the lottery to get Rose.

If Hawk was planning on making bad moves to get Black Jack and Big Frank, awesome. Otherwise, they were just bad moves.

But the moves really weren't that bad. Calderon was a nice acquistion for Scott Bradley. Then Calderon became Tim Raines. They acquired Bonilla for nothing, then traded him for DeLeon, who they traded several years later for One Dog and Rickey Horton.

The moves he gets busted about where Fisk to LF, which lasted 31 games. Firing LaRussa and trading Bonilla who he picked up for nothing which is never pointed out as a positive.

Granted it didn't work out, but there were a few positives that occured during his reign and after. The guy he hired to take LaRussa's place managed in a World Series.

And another thing that people miss when dreaming of Tony LaRussa leading the Sox to multiple championships..........he used to get booed worse than Jerry Manuel. There weren't a lot of White Sox fans up in arms when he was let go.